


no love, no light, no end inside (and i'm looking for a miracle)

by CanaryWarrior, Missingmisery08



Category: Stargirl (TV 2020)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Villain Rick Tyler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25884172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanaryWarrior/pseuds/CanaryWarrior, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missingmisery08/pseuds/Missingmisery08
Summary: In another universe, the ISA discovered that Rex Tyler had a son. This changes the course of Rick's life, including him joining the ISA. When the new JSA appears years later, there isn't just a conflict between the two groups, there's a conflict in Rick's heart.
Relationships: Beth Chapel & Henry King Jr. & Yolanda Montez & Courtney Whitmore, Beth Chapel & Rick Tyler, Beth Chapel/Rick Tyler, Cindy Burman & Rick Tyler, Steven Sharpe & Rick Tyler
Comments: 23
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the song 'Miracle' by Hurts. We hope you enjoy the story!

Rain poured down on the Tyler house, alluding to the great tragedy that was the death of Rex Tyler and his wife, Wendi. The two died, leaving behind their young son Rick in the care of Wendi’s brother Matt.

Jordan Mahkent, alongside his colleague Henry King Sr, walked to the front door of the Tyler residence and knocked on the door. The door creaked open a crack and the pair was greeted by a red eyed Matt Harris, mourning the recent loss of his sister and brother in-law. 

“Matthew Harris?” Jordan questioned in his smooth voice.

“Yes?” the man replied in a questioning tone.

“My name is Joar Mahkent,” he greeted, introducing himself under his alias. “And this is my colleague Dr. King. We’re with child services. May we please come in?”

The man looked between the pair before slowly nodding his head and opening his door farther to allow the two entrance into the house.

“May I first offer my condolences, I’m sure this is a very difficult time for you and your family.” the villain spoke as he stepped past the threshold, Dr. King trailing in behind him. The two took in the disheveled state of the house, each noting the empty and crushed cans of beer littering the floor around them.

“Thanks,” Matt said gruffly as he kicked a can to the side. “Now what exactly do you want?” he questioned, voice scratchy and words slightly slurred.

Jordan nodded his head at Henry Sr, gesturing for the man to explain. “We were alerted that there was a child left in your care after your sister’s passing, is that correct?” the red haired man informed him at the instruction of his teammate.

“My nephew, Rick.”

“Yes. Well I'm afraid, Mr. Harris, that Rick will be unable to legally remain under your guardianship.” Brainwave spoke. At Matt’s confused face he continued. “There was no legal right given to you when you took in young Mr. Tyler and the state’s decided it is in Rick’s best interest to move to another home.”

“No,” Matt slurred, “There were papers. Wendi left papers-”

“None that have any legal standing, Mr. Harris.”

“My sister’s last dying wish was for me to take care of that kid,” Matt growled as he got real close to the doctor in front of him in a threatening stance.

Brainwave was ready to kill the man on the spot but was stopped by the sound of Jordan clearing his throat.

“Mr. Harris, once again, I am truly sorry for your loss. I understand what it’s like to lose someone you love. And I'm sure this is all quite confusing at the moment. But I can assure you, the best way to care for Rick is to allow him to be raised in a nurturing environment. We were made aware that the circumstances in which Rick came into your guardianship were very sudden and highly unexpected. And the state believes it would be well advised if Rick went to a home prepared and happy to raise him to the best of their ability.” He recited as he slowly wedged his way between the two men. “ _ That  _ is the best way to fulfil your sister’s wish. Let her son grow up safe, happy, and well cared for. I know that’s what I’d want for my own son.”

Before Matt could say anything, the sound of small footsteps was heard through the halls. The three were alerted to a small and puffy eyed Rick Tyler coming around the corner at the sound of the men’s voices.

“Hello, Rick.” Jordan greeted softly as he stepped toward the boy. 

“They’re gonna take you someplace better,” a cross armed Matt Harris informed gruffly, now agreeing with the two men in his home. “Better than here.”

“But mom said for me to stay with you,” the boy croaked out.

Jordan kneeled down to reach Rick’s eyeline. “You know, I have a son just around your age. His name is Cameron. If what happened with your mother and father even happened to me, I’d want to know he was safe.That’s all me and my good friend Dr. King are trying to do here.” he gestured to the man beside him. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say here?” the villain asked tenderly as if he was speaking to his own son. 

Rick nodded gingerly as his uncle went to the boys room and packed a bag for him.

Jordan sat with him while Matt prepared for their departure and gave the boy a small smile before patting him on the shoulder and grabbing Rick’s bag, leaving the house alongside Brainwave and the young Tyler boy.

“Who knew kidnapping a child could be this easy.” Henry Sr. remarked in a whisper when they were out of earshot. “And without the use of our powers. Remarkable.”

“It’s all about how confident you sound. And the man’s blatant disregard for the child.” 

“I still don’t understand why we left him alive,” the man spoke, still bitter from Matt’s audacity to threaten him.

Jordan chuckled and looked back at the figure of Matt Harris retreating back into the house, ”Red flags would’ve been raised if both the Tylers and their relatives died within such a short span of time. We can’t have whatever's left of the Justice Society poking around in our affairs again.”

“I could’ve made it look like an accident. Or a suicide,” the ginger offered as they stood outside of the car, Rick struggling to climb into the vehicle before the telepath gave him a small lift with his powers.

“All that matters is that we have the boy. And the hourglass,” Jordan stated. “That’s all we need for now. If it ever comes up, you can always come back and finish the job.”

The pair drove back to ISA headquarters with Rick in the back seat. Once arriving they called a meeting between the rest of their team

...

“You what?” Rick heard from the hallway of the tunnel he was placed in. His eyes peered around the corner to see a room full of people arguing.

“How come you never told us Hourman had a son, and why the hell did you bring him here?” A tall, fair skinned woman questioned as she stood beside a man in a jacket holding a bat in one hand.

“It was a shock to both of us, and we made a decision that we could use to our advantage. The boy shares his father’s DNA, meaning he could possess his father’s ability to use the hourglass.”

“So what, we’re just going to send a child into the battlefield with nothing but an hour of strength, for what? Where the hell are we even gonna keep him?” A grey haired man with a beard asked incredulously.

“Well Steven, I’m glad you asked. He’s staying under your care until he’s of age.” Jordan announced.

“My what now,” the man questioned dumbfounded, jaw dropped

“Meeting dismissed.” 

“Hey, wait a minute-” 

“Not for you Sharpe.” Icicle looked at his teammate.

The rest of the ISA retreated from the room, leaving behind just the two men.

“I’m not raising some kid.” Gambler declared indignantly, sticking his chin in the air, the gesture akin to that of a disobedient child.

“You will, and there will be no question about it,” Jordan stepped closer to the man, creating an icicle in his hand and holding it dangerously close to the other man’s throat. “You don’t make the rules here, Steven. I do. In case you forgot. We need the boy. And we can’t well let him out into the world. We don’t know who in the Justice Society knows of his existence and having him running freely around the streets of Blue Valley will do us a lot more harm than good. We can use him. You’re taking him in and that’s final.” Jordan finished as he moved the icicle away from his friend’s neck.

The Gambler grumbled out a yes and nodded in compliance.

Rick took a few steps backwards before bumping into someone behind him, he gasped but his mouth was covered and a loud “SHHHH,” was directed at him.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the frame of a girl around his age directly in front of him.

“Be quiet, my daddy can’t know I’m here.” her small voice squeaked out as she removed her hand from the boy’s mouth. “I’m Cynthia. But people call me Cindy.” she greeted. “And boy, is it nice to finally have someone to talk to.”

“I’m Rick,” the boy stuttered out, before his hand was grabbed and shaken by the girl.

“Nice to meet you. If you stick around, I think this may just be the start of a lovely friendship.”

***

“And then he just breaks up with me, and he goes to sit at the losers table. Can you believe it?” an exasperated Cindy explains to Rick who’s typing away at his computer at her desk. “And now he’s sitting at the loser’s table and it’s just, ugh- are you even listening to me?” the girl questioned from her bed.

“Nope,” Rick mumbled.

“You are the worst brother in the universe, Rick. I swear.”

“We’re not technically siblings.” Rick reminded her.

“But Steven-” 

“Steve isn’t my dad, Cindy.” 

“But he is your legal guardian, and my Godfather so technically you kind of are.” the girl shot back as she messed with a strand of her white hair.

“Whatever,” he mumbled once more as he scrolled through his emails. 

“What psycho spends their time looking in through emails? Seriously dude, get a life, or an Instagram,” the girl instructed, but before Rick could come up with a retort, his phone beeped the tune of ‘Timber’ with the name ‘Steve’ flashing on the screen.

Rick quickly read over the message before grabbing his things and shoving them in his bag.

“It’s Steven, he wants me to help the Crocks with some phone company thing. I gotta go.”

“Lucky, you actually get to go on a mission.”

“Yeah, with the Crocks, who are probably gonna be making sex eyes at each other the entire time and I am not emotionally stable enough for that.”

“True. Good luck with that.” Cindy smirked and fist bumped her friend in solidarity.

The teen simply rolled his eyes before slinging his backpack over his shoulder and leaving the room, not before ruffling Cindy’s hair earning him a quick smack with a pillow before he retreated down into the tunnels to meet up with Paula and Larry. 

"So what are we doing tonight?" Rick questioned as he entered the meeting room.

"Just a routine diversion. Sharpe is going to be hacking into another network, all we're going to do is take care of a few guards. Nothing too challenging." Paula informed as she adjusted her partner's mask. "Now, go get changed, or we're leaving without you. Who knows, if we get there in time maybe we'll leave a night guard or two for you to rough up."

Rick knew that by 'rough up', the older woman meant kill. Even though he had been trained and conditioned to go through with, hell even enjoy, taking a human life, he couldn't stop the uneasy feeling that settled in the pit of his stomach at the thought.

"Don't be nervous, kid. I'm sure you'll do great," Sportsmaster assured as he gave the boy a rough pat on the back. Rick muffled a grunt at the uncomfortable contact.

Once the boy changed, the trio made their way to Empire Enterprises. Three guards walked around the building's perimeter, not yet aware of the villains' presence. 

Rick grabbed the hourglass around his neck, prepared to turn it over if need be, when Sportsmaster swung the bat in his hand and struck it against the head of the nearest guard. 

Blood splattered over the pavement and Rick's eyes widened. The other two guards were alerted to the group by the sound of their coworker's groan of pain. The two officers pulled out their guns only for them to be disarmed by Tigress, who shot her crossbow at their weapons. 

The three guards ran inside, dragging along their injured friend with them, retreating into what they believed was the safety of the building.

Tigress only smirked and pulled out a card, swiping it into a lock pad and unlocking the door. Rick trailed in behind the two, "Why did you attack the guards if you had the key card the whole time? We could've just snuck past them." Rick asked as nonchalantly as he could, masking the concern in his voice.

"Where the hell is the fun in that?" Sportsmaster asked rhetorically as he peeked around each hallway. 

“You go right, we’ll go left.” Tigress instructed Rick before looking to her partner and running in the opposite direction of the teen.

Rick stood still, looking at the now empty space where his teammates, if you could even call them that, had once stood before taking off in the direction he was told. 

After much sneaking around in and around the hallways of the building, Rick saw no need to further inspect the premises and instead opted to look for the couple roaming the rest of the building.

Before Rick could return to his original spot however, he was stopped by his shoe squishing down on a small puddle of blood. He looked to the floor to see the tile below him was coated in the shiny red liquid creating a trail around the corner.

He turned his head and peeked around the side, seeing a wounded and badly bleeding guard. Red stained his once beige shirt and he lay on the ground unmoving, but the extremely slow rise and fall of his chest did not go unnoticed by Hourman. 

The teen took a breath, preparing himself to turn over his hourglass and finish off the guard once and for all, but as he stepped past the corner he was drawn back to the shadows at the sound of footsteps in the hallway opposite to him.

"Wildcat! Wildcat come in," he heard faintly. "Hello? Please answer." the small voice implored before a gasp was heard. 

“Chuck, I found someone. Another guard, I think they're still alive. What do I do?” the voice asked frantically.

Rick moved ever so slightly to see just around the corner. What he witnessed was a girl kneeling down over the guard’s body. She wore a mask that covered her head. Most of her face was hidden by big green goggles and Rick recognized they belonged to Dr. Mid-Nite, Gambler’s nemesis. He turned back quickly, pulling his body flush against the wall, not sure what his next move should be. This was the nemesis his guardian spoke about so often, constantly droning about the battle of intelligence they took part it was like no other. But this wasn’t the great and mighty adversary Steven had defeated, the tales of battles they partook in that were told to Rick as a child.

No, this Dr. Mid-Nite was just a girl, who upon further inspection, Rick heard was crying. He maneuvered his head to see her small frame. Her sniffles could be heard over her frantic questioning. With every question silence followed, yet the girl moved as if she was being given instructions. She took her shaking hands and applied pressure to the wound on the guard’s head, trying with all her might to still her quivering body.

“Chuck, there’s so much blood.” She choked out a sob. “Call an ambulance, or the police, or someone. Please.” she begged, but even Rick could see the man on the ground fading, and fast. And apparently so could whoever Dr. Mid-Nite seemed to be talking to, because after a pause where it looked like the girl was listening to somebody Rick couldn't see, she gave out another sob before slowly pulling her gloved hands away from the man’s head.

Rick’s body seemed to move without thinking, and he left his place out of sight and slowly stepped into the darkened hallway that led to the shaken hero. She was looking down at her blood soaked gloves before harshly removing them from her hands. She brought her newly gloveless hand up to her mouth and muffled one final sob before moving to wipe her nose. 

“Wildcat, come in. Stargirl? Brai-” she halted her sentence when she felt a presence behind her. She turned her gaze and saw that directly beside her, only a few feet off, was Rick. He froze, knowing he’d been caught. The teen looked dark and intimidating, towering over the girl even from far away. She flinched back at his sudden appearance and looked at him with wide fearful eyes.

Beth gave him a once over, questioning who he could be and whether or not he was friend or foe. But when she got to his eyes, there was something there, hidden under a stone cold expression there was uncertainty, maybe concern. Beth couldn't discern the look however, for Rick snapped out of his stillness and slowly retreated back into the darkness of the hallway and ran to look for his older colleagues.

He eventually found the Crocks outside, fighting off other kids in costumes. He took note of one that wore a cat mask, one that looked like she ran through a surprisingly stylish 4th of July parade, and one redhead mostly just blocking attacks. 

“Hey kid, nice of you to finally join us.” Sportsmaster commented over the rage of attacks he threw.

“I got caught up.” was all Rick replied with before flipping his hourglass and allowing strength to seep into his veins. 

The cat-masked girl, who he had come to recognize as yet another version of a long gone superhero, Wildcat, lunged at him with sharp blades extended from her gloves ready to slice him to pieces. He quickly grabbed her arms and flipped her over his shoulders, throwing her onto the ground behind him. Rick heard the hum of the charging Cosmic Staff and was able to block the beam of energy thrown his way with a nearby car, grabbing it and sliding it in front of him before he could be hit.

He ran to the Crocks’ side, taking a fighting stance when Gambler’s voice came through comms.

“I’ve got the satellite codes.” Rick heard his guardian say over the line.

“Copy that,” Sportsmaster said as Rick said, “Got it.”

“We’re going into overtime,” the sports enthusiast said.

“Mission accomplished?” his love questioned.

“Not quite babe,” he replied, earning a disgusted eye roll from Rick. 

The villain got out his hockey stick and puck before he chucked it to the blonde heroes standing alone. The puck attached to her staff before the stick flew up and the hockey puck exploded. The staff landed back in the girls hands and a worried look overtook her face, soon replaced by a hopeful one when the staff started to glow brightly once more.

Her teammates soon surrounded her, now joined by the new Dr. Mid-Nite, who Rick couldn’t help but move his gaze to.

The Crocks started to walk confidently toward the group, Rick following with much less self assurance before they were stopped short by a literal robot descending from the sky.

“Date night’s over,” the older man informed his partner.

“This was your date night?” Hourman couldn’t help but ask incredulously.

“There’s a reason we left you behind, kid,” he said as he pulled out a piece of sports equipment and tossed it upwards, letting it glide slowly before landing near the teen heroes and erupting in a flash of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the three villains were gone.

…

Back at the Pit Stop, the team looked up in awe at the giant machine before them. 

“That is so cool.” Henry commented, earning a nod from Beth.

“Where are your gloves?” Yolanda questioned, noticing the other girl’s bare hands. 

“Oh,” Beth’s face fell as she reached into her pocket and retrieved her blood coated gloves, now somewhat dried and darkly stained.

Yolanda gave a sad smile before gently rubbing her friend’s shoulder.

“How are you holding up?” came Pat’s voice as he walked down the metal stairs, Courtney trailing behind her step father. “You witnessed something really awful. It’s understandable to feel upset, or disturbed, or any number of emotions really.” the older man offered comfortingly.

Beth dove into her thoughts, remembering the event vividly. One question on her mind.

“Why didn’t _ who _ kill you? Henry asked with his trademark brotherly concern.

“What?” Courtney asked her friend in concern.

“Henry!” Beth scolded her mind reading friend.

“Sorry, I’m still trying to get the hang of this.” the telepth defended, hands raised in surrender.

“ _ Who _ tried to kill you?” Yolanda pried.

“No one. That’s what has me confused. He was right there and then he just left.” Beth stated.

“Okay but who?” Yolanda tried once more.

“I..I don’t know. But he was with Sportsmaster and Tigress. When I saw him, he had this...hourglass around his neck, he was holding on to it like he was going to turn it over.” the girl recounted. Pat stiffened beside then. A gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by the teens.

“What is it Mr. Dugan?”

“It’s impossible.” he whispered. “Hourman.”

“Like from the first Justice Society of America?” Courtney remembered.

“Yes- well, no. The original Hourman, Rex Tyler died in a car accident years ago along with his wife Wendi.” Pat spoke gravely, remembering the death of his old friends. “This new one, I don’t know who he could be. The hourglass only worked for Rex’s DNA, so unless he has some sort of...evil twin out there-”

“Or a son.” Beth proposed.

“No, it’s not possible. Rex and Wendi never had a child.”

“That you know of, Mr. Dugan. When I saw him I couldn’t make out his face that well, but from what I could see he looked young. Our age, maybe a bit more. What if the Injustice Society got to him after his parents’ death,” the girl suggested.

“There’d have been no reason to keep him alive. Especially with the possibility of him following in his father’s footsteps one day. It would be too risky. And it’s not exactly like kidnapping a child would go unnoticed either. It just wouldn’t be worth it.” 

“Unless they had the hourglass. It wasn’t at JSA headquarters when you took me.” Courtney cut in. “So where is it?”

Pat gave a ‘tsk’ sound before releasing a sigh, “After the JSA was defeated the remaining members hung up their capes for good. But by the next time I had gone to the HQ, the hourglass was already gone. I assumed Rex had taken it just in case, and had it buried with him when he died.” 

“Okay, well what if he did take it with him, but when he died the ISA somehow got their hands on it and they kept it.” 

“Maybe as some sort of sick trophy,” Yolanda guessed

“And when they found out about Rex having a son, they took him so he could use the hourglass one day.” Beth added.

“But why? With my father’s abilities it’s not exactly like they needed someone else to do the heavy lifting.” Henry said. “I mean, we’re telekinetic, there’s not much we can’t do.”

“Woah, hold on. Even if Rex did have a son and the ISA somehow got him and the hourglass in their possession, I know Rex and Wendi were careful; they always had a plan, they would’ve never left their child alone. There would be someone out there they trusted enough to leave their son with. A family member, close friend, but no one that close to them was reported missing or dead after the accident. If the ISA had really taken their son, there would have to be someone looking for him.”

“Maybe Brainwave made them forget or someone in the ISA hurt them but not enough to make the news. Did the Tylers have any nearby relatives at all that you can think of? Any that you haven’t heard from since the accident?” Courtney tried.

Pat searched his mind before nodding slowly, “Wendi had a brother... Matt, I think. She rarely talked about him but he would’ve been the closest. I didn’t see him at the funeral.” he recalled, unable to believe that he really was indulging in their theory.

“Maybe because he was hiding Hourman’s son!” Beth exclaimed, excitedly looking between her friends at their discovery.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” Pat sighed.

The four teens shook their heads.

The older man took a breath, recognizing that he was way too old to be doing this. “I’ll see what I can dig up on Wendi’s brother. But in the meantime, you kids should be careful. If any part of this is true, that means the ISA kidnapped a child and did who knows what to him in the time since they took him. What bothers me is how they managed to turn him against everything his father stood for, why the hell they would go through all the trouble of keeping him around, and what in the world they have planned for him.”


	2. Chapter 2

Rick groaned when he entered the ISA meeting room. Leaning his body against the wall and lightly hitting his head against the stone behind him. He tore the mask from his face and let his hands fall to his side.

He felt conflicted.

On the one hand, the mission had been a success. Gambler had accessed the satellite codes and they had won. But on the other hand, Rick underestimated how uncomfortable he would feel at the prospect of actually taking a life. If he was being honest with himself, even if the new Dr. Mid-Nite hadn't shown up and tried saving the guard, Rick didn’t think he would’ve gone through with killing him. Didn’t think he could’ve.

He wasn’t like Cindy, or Steven, or the Crocks. He didn’t feel the same ease about killing another human being as they did. A part of him tried to chalk up the discomfort to nerves from his first real mission, fighting off these new superheroes and being in possible danger. But when he thought of Cindy, who was quite content and disturbingly amused by the thought of muder, a stark contrast to himself, he knew in his heart that he just didn’t have it in him.

Rick knew however that with the life he led, death was just going to be a part of his routine. So he did what he always did, he picked himself up and tried brushing off whatever it was that held him back. 

He slowly walked home from the tunnels running under town. The teen found the sewers, however unsettling to the rest of the world, a strangely calming place for him. It was like his own special world underground where he didn’t have to deal with the ISA’s constant demands, or Cindy’s questionable life choices, or even Steven’s annoying addiction to Kesha that drove Rick crazy every time he heard the music. Here down below, he could just think freely and feel okay with it.

The farther he walked, the louder the rumbling breath of Solomon Grundy could be heard. Rick peeked his head to get a look at the creature's cave, sighing before entering the monster’s area.

“Hey, it’s me. Again.” Rick greeted the being. It wasn’t unusual for the teen to seek a form of therapy talking to the creature, who could only ever respond in grunts. “Went on a mission. Saw a couple dead people. Pretty standard for the ISA but I don’t know, Cindy is alway talking about how badly she wants her ‘seat at the table’, but I really don’t get it. What the hell are we even doing this for? No one tells me shit.” the boy disclosed his frustrations, only earning a loud huff from the creature. “And you can’t tell me shit either, so what’s the point.”

He clicked his tongue, realizing that having a one sided conversation with a sewer monster wasn’t going to do him any good. So he went off once more, finally returning to the mansion he called home.

It never ceased to amaze Rick just how purple his house was. Seriously, Steven had a problem. Rick didn’t often dwell on it but the feeling of surprise was still there with the transition from grimey dark sewers to an almost regal aesthetic in the house that Steven Sharpe tried very hard to maintain. 

Rick had assumed there would be no problems getting from downstairs up to his room, but much to Rick’s annoyance the Gambler had other plans. When Rick flicked on the lamp he was greeted by Steven, who was sitting in a chair with their cat, Juniper, sitting in his lap. The Gambler had intended to shock the teen but if he had, Rick made no indication of it.

“Hey, Steven,” the teen spoke. “How long have you been waiting there?”

The Gambler didn’t answer, only giving Juniper a small pat as she jumped off his lap and ran to nuzzle the teen’s legs. 

“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we got the codes,” Steven proclaimed proudly. 

Rick simply nodded his head, trying and failing to move his attention from Juniper who has begun to lick his blood coated shoes. “What  _ are _ those codes for?” he asked as monotone as possible while he attempted to maneuver his feet away from the vampiric feline.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older. Now, how was it? Paula informed me that you three ran into some...trouble.”

Rick nodded slowly, not sure how to break it to the man in front of him that he had seen a new version of the older man’s legendary nemesis. “There were complications. There were new heroes.”

“I heard, but the Crocks sounded a little too  _ occupied _ to give me many details.” 

Rick scrunched his face in disgust at the implication, always hating the times he was trained by the Crocks, the two never stopped giving each other looks and it was far from a pleasant experience for the boy. “I get it. Regretfully _. _ ” he mumbled under his breath. “There was a new Wildcat along with some dolled up version of Starman and a new guy, I couldn’t recognize the costume. But that’s not everything.” Rick informed, piquing his guardian’s interest. “There was a new Dr. Mid-Nite,” he spoke slowly allowing the man before him to intake the information. 

“A new Dr. Mid-Nite. Hmmm, I was getting quite bored with no nemesis to destroy. Now I have something to do. I will make it my new life’s mission to battle this new Dr, Mid-Nite, and when I do it will be glorious, a fight for the ages!” Steven proclaimed, holding up a raised fist in imaginary glory.

Rick raised an eyebrow, looking over the man once. “Did you drink before I got home?” he questioned in complete seriousness.

The older man’s face fell. “No. One day when you get your own nemesis you’ll understand. The crave for battle is insatiable and when a worthy opponent is placed in the right spot,” he gave a chef’s kiss. “It is truly magnificent.”

Rick pursed his lips and nodded his head slowly at his guardian’s theatrical antics. Completely done with the whole night. He patted the man on the back, “That sounds great Steven,” he remarked sarcastically before leaving the man behind and retreating to the comfort of his own room.

Finally changed out of his costume, Rick allowed his head to hit the pillow on his bed and rubbed his face, finally feeling the effects of battle take over his system. But a part of him couldn’t fall asleep. It was the part of him that watched as the new Dr. Mid-Nite pleaded for that security guard's life. Her voice was scared and desperate. She cared if that guard lived or died and even when there was no hope of saving him, she still tried, opening herself up to witness a death and suffer through all the effects of doing so. Rick couldn't help but let the word ‘brave’ slip into his mind as he finally fell into a slumber.

...

“What the hell is your problem today?” Cindy questioned as she threw a punch at Rick. “I have almost stabbed you four times and we’ve only been at this,” she checked the clock as she flipped away from Rick’s charge, “half an hour.”

Rick groaned as he tried to land an elbow to Cindy’s stomach. He knew he was being sloppy. That night wasn’t easy for him. His mind was invaded with visions of the new Dr. Mid-Nite sobbing over the night guard’s body. The more he thought about it the more it unsettled him, knowing that he worked with the people responsible for ending that man’s life. Throughout training that morning, thoughts of the girl’s wide and fearful eyes overtook him, causing his lackluster performance. 

Cindy, knowing something was off with her friend let off her harsh attacks and went to grab them a drink. “Water or booze?” she questioned the boy, knowing that certain levels of severity called for certain levels of alcohol.

“What the hell are we doing all of this shit for?” Rick asked as he stared into space.

“Booze it is,” Cindy determined as she went to her kitchen to fetch a bottle of wine from the fridge. When she returned she took a swig in preparation for whatever conversation was to come before handing the bottle over to Rick. “What’s on your mind?”

“We do all of this shit for them, and they don’t even tell us why.” Rick expressed his frustration. “It doesn’t make sense. We do the heavy lifting for what? It’s bullshit.”

“Technically it’s only you doing the ‘heavy lifting’, dad wont let me do anything. At least you’re probably gonna find out what’s going on before I do.” 

“Sure, maybe one day I will, but as of right now, how the hell are we supposed to know if it’s worth it?”

Cindy sighed. “Remember what the ISA has always told you, your father believed in this. He went so far as to double cross the JSA for this. It’s what he wanted.”

“Yeah, that’s what they tell me,” he grumbled

“And what, you don’t believe them?” Cindy pressed.

“I just don’t see why my dad never told me.”

“You were a kid. And I’m sure he would’ve told you when you were older if he hadn’t rammed into a tree.” Cindy stated quite blandly.

“Watch it,” Rick warned.

“I’m only speaking truths. And if he didn’t want this for you, why would he have left Jordan his hourglass? Huh?” When Rick didn’t have an answer she continued. “That’s right. He left it for  _ you _ . So you could follow in his footsteps. That’s all our parents wanted for us, to be strong like them,” she spoke, but at the end it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself more than Rick. She quickly shook off the daze and gestured to Rick in a ‘Give me’ motion before grabbing the bottle out of his hands, taking a long chug before placing the bottle on the floor.

Rick took in Cindy’s words, knowing that she was right, his father wanted his legacy to proceed with his son, but then another thought dawned on him. “Do you think these new kids know what they're fighting for?”

“What do you mean?” Cindy asked as she wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve.

“All of the adults in the ISA know what they're doing all of this for. But when I was in that parking lot and Empire Enterprises, all I saw were a bunch of kids like us. So do you think they know what they stand for, or do you think they only know they’re supposed to be against us?” Rick asked with more emotion than he had shown in a long time.

Cindy groaned, “Jesus, I did not sign up for answering deep questions this early in the morning.”

“It’s almost noon.”

“On a Saturday,” the girl said incredulously, “I shouldn’t even be doing anything right now unless it’s shopping or sleeping.”

“That sounds like a you problem.” Rick stated, earning a glare from his friend. 

“What even happened on your mission, anyway? Besides the Crocks making out, presumably,” Cindy inquired.

Rick took a moment to gather his thoughts. “The Crocks killed a few guards and went one way, while I went the other. Steve was in some room getting the codes-”

“Codes for what?” Cindy interrupted.

Rick shrugged. “I don’t know, he wouldn’t tell me. Anyway, there was this new team.”

Cindy raised her eyebrows. “A new team, the kids? Why were they even there?”

“It’s like they're a new JSA,” Rick revealed. “There was a new Wildcat, a Star _ girl _ instead of a Starman, Dr. Mid-Nite, and some other guy, I don’t know who he was.”

“Wow, impressive,” Cindy chided before realizing something. “Wait, a new Dr. Mid-Nite? Steven must be loving that!”

Rick rolled his eyes. “Don’t even get me started, he kept talking about how she is his new nemesis. He didn’t even meet her face-to-face, he was in that room the entire time!”

“Hopefully he isn’t going to get too theatrical. I don’t need to hear all about the latest and greatest Dr. Mid-Nite when I’m trying to get my seat at the table.”

“You think that’s gonna be bad? Actually try living with the guy. The amount of times he’s gotten hammered and blasted Kesha in the house while ranting about his ‘Great battles’ with Dr. Mid-Nite has actually traumatized me.” 

Cindy laughed at the boy’s misfortune before taking another, smaller, sip of the drink in front of her. “Hey, better than murdering your mom,” she chuckled humorlessly. 

“Sorry,” the boy sympathized.

“I don’t even know why I care anymore. The entire thing is just some guilt tactic my dad uses to stop me from doing anything with my life.”

“That’s shitty.” Rick remarked simply.

“Yeah,” Cindy agreed. “But I guess evil lizard men are just like that.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Rick trailed off as his thoughts fell back on the sight of Dr. Mid-Nite once again.

Cindy noticed his daze and snapped her fingers together a few times. When she didn’t get a response, she retracted one of the knives in her wrists and gave a small slice on the boy's arm.

“Ow! What the hell?” he asked as he grabbed his arm.

“You fazed out.” Cindy stated as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

“So you decided to stab me?”

“Technically it wasn’t a stab, more like a slice. A graze.”

Rick gave the girl a ‘really?’ look before wiping the small dots of blood on his arm.

“You’ll live. It was barely a paper cut.” the girl defended. “Now, what had you so out of it?”

“You just cut me,” Rick stated. 

“Eh, it’s not the first time. And you’re deflecting. Spill.” Cindy commanded.

Rick an eyebrow at the girl before rolling his eyes before giving into the girl’s request. “I saw the new Dr. Mid-Nite.” he admitted lowly.

“Yeah, so did Larry and Paula.”

“I mean before, when I was still in the building. She was right there, she didn’t even see me for a while.”

“And you didn’t kill her?” Cindy asked dumbfounded. 

“No!” Rick exclaimed.

“Why not?” the girl tilted her head. “Did Steven want to do it? Did he even know she was around at that point?” 

“No, to both of those. I just...I couldn’t.”

“It’s actually really easy. I mean you have super strength so you could've just,” she made a clicking noise with her mouth and a snapping gesture to signify the kill.

“You know you're insane, right?”

“Insane or badass?” 

“Insane.”

Cindy scoffed, rolling her eyes and lightly elbowing the boy. “She’s your dad’s-” Rick gave her a look. “-Steven’s nemesis. He would’ve wanted you to kill her.”

“I mean, I don’t really think so. He seemed pretty excited to have his enemy back. Said it was boring without someone to fight.”

Cindy gave a thoughtful look for a moment, “I guess that’s true. So that’s why you let her live, so Sharpe could have something to do with his life?”

“Not exactly…” he bit his lip. “She was trying to save someone. One of the guards the Crocks 

got to.” Rick explained.

“You spared her cause she was helping a lost cause?” 

“It’s more than the ISA’s ever done for other people.”

“That  _ we _ know of.” Cindy reminded the boy.

“It just seemed wrong to kill her, you know?”

“No.”

Rick rubbed his face,”She wasn’t doing anything, she just wanted to help a dying man. She wasn’t in our way. I saw no reason to kill her.”

“But she’s a member of the JSA. She is in our way.” 

Rick only shrugged. “I’ll remember that for next time.” he spoke in a mocking tone.

“If there even is a next time. I doubt Jordan’s gonna send you on another mission after you let one of our enemies go.” 

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Rick decided. 

Cindy gave a sly smirk. “This is why you’re my brother. Screw biology, it’s our souls that are siblings.” she stated, imitating Gambler’s theatrical ways.

“I will drink to that,” Rick said, grabbing hold of the bottle in Cindy’s hand and taking a gulp. 

The two friends sat, sharing a fond moment before going their separate ways and retreating back to their homes.

…

Beth sat alone on the couch at Pat’s garage. She had spent the day typing away at her computer trying to dig up everything she could on Rex Tyler. To the girl’s dismay, nothing that came up indicated the Tylers had a son or any children at all. The girl could understand though, the idea of putting her family in the position where they could be hurt by supervillains made her shudder.

She thought back to her encounter with the new Hourman. He looked menacing on the surface, but Beth didn’t miss the uncertain look in his eyes. Unlike Sportmaster and Tigress who looked like they enjoyed the battle and took pleasure in each life they took, Hourman looked nervous, almost afraid when he saw the guard’s body on the floor.

Beth couldn’t help but feel awful. She couldn’t imagine life without her parents, and going against everything they believed in seemed like an impossibility in her book. But with the way his eyes reflected her own feelings, however dulled, gave her hope that maybe he wasn’t so bad.

The rest of the team wouldn’t understand her determination to find out all she could about the boy. Not that the internet was helping much. They were much more invested in figuring out the identities of the ISA’s other, more well known, members. Beth scolded herself for not wanting to help them with their efforts as much as she should have. She couldn’t explain it, but every part of her wanted this Hourman to be good. And she wouldn’t stop until he was on their side. 

She got up and stretched her arms, walking over to her bag and pulling out her goggles. 

“Hey, Chuck. Any news on the new Hourman?” she questioned cheerily.

“I’m sorry Beth, there’s no new information pertaining to Hourman.” the goggles informed. Beth grimaced for a moment before placing a smile on her face once more. “And there’s nothing in the JSA database that even indicates Rex Tyler had a child? Even a little bit?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“That’s okay,” she sighed. “If the Tylers did have a son and didn’t tell anyone, it would have been to protect him. Right?”

“Of course, Beth.” Chuck reassured.

“Thanks, Chuck. You're the only one that actually wants to help me.” the girl smiled sadly, but before she could do anything else, she heard the closing of a car door.

She looked over the rail of study space to see a familiar head of red hair come inside the building.

“Hey, Henry.” she called from overhead. 

The boy looked up and gave a small smile to his friend. “Hey Beth, how are you doing?” He asked in concern, recalling that Beth watched a man die and encountered Hourman.

“I’m okay,” Beth responded. At Henry’s eyebrow raise, she added, “Seriously, I’m alright. I’ve been trying to do my own research on Rex Tyler and his son.”

“Still on that evil offspring theory?” the boy questioned.

“I don’t think he’s _ evil _ …” Beth trailed off, thinking back to that fateful moment. Hourman could’ve killed her, but he didn’t. He looked at her as she tried to save that security guard. There wasn’t evil in his eyes, there was something else. He didn’t try to hurt her, that meant there had to be  _ some _ good in him at least, right? Beth couldn’t explain it, but deep down, she felt hope for this new Hourman. Maybe if she could find him and try to talk to him...

“No, absolutely not,” Henry said abruptly, in that overprotective brother tone he reserved for herself and Courtney. “You are  _ not  _ falling for a supervillain.”

“You said you wouldn’t read my mind!”

“Your thoughts about how there’s good in Hourman were too loud for me to possibly ignore,” Henry shot back. “I’ve seen movies and I’ve read books, Beth. I know what happens when the sweet, selfless, innocent girl falls for the bad guy. It doesn’t end well.”

“Have you always been this paranoid?” Beth inquired before sighing. “Look, I am not going to fall for this new Hourman. I just think we could help him. I don’t think he’s evil like the rest of the ISA.”

_ ‘Why do I find that hard to believe’ _ Henry thought.

“Alright then,” he spoke. “Found anything?” 

“No.” Beth admitted sheepishly. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t eventually.”

“And you asked Chuck?”

“Of course I asked Chuck. He didn’t know anything,” the girl disclosed.

“Beth,” he began softly. “If Chuck doesn’t know anything, no one does. Maybe the old Hourman didn’t have a son.”

“No, how could this new guy use the hourglass if he wasn’t Hourman’s son.”

“I don’t know,” Henry admitted. “But I do know that dedicating all your time to this will get unhealthy really fast,” the boy spoke with brotherly concern.

“I’m not ‘dedicating all my time’ to figuring out who the new Hourman is. I’m just dedicating some time. And it’s Saturday, I don’t have anything better to do.” she reasoned with the boy in front of her.

“Sure.” he said sarcastically making a face.

“I’m serious.” she laughed

“I will not hesitate to throw…” Henry struggled to find a word, “...Bibles at you if I find out you have a crush on Hourman.”

“Bibles?” Beth questioned skeptically.

“Bibles,” he confirmed with a confident tone, crossing his arms and nodding surely. 

Beth only grinned at her brother figure’s antics. “Sure you will. What have you and the others been doing?”

“Nothing much, really,” Henry admitted. “Courtney’s been helping Pat try to find Wendi’s brother, and while you were focusing on Hourman’s identity, Yolanda and I have been trying to do more research into the ISA. She’s been training more, too, since Tigress almost kicked her ass.”

Beth nodded. “What are you doing here?” she wondered, realizing that she was so caught up in Hourman that she didn’t know why Henry was here.

“I came to find you, actually. Figured you could use a break after everything.”

Beth smiled. “That’s sweet. What were you thinking?”

“How about we grab something to eat at that diner we both used to love and then we could head to your place and watch some movies?” Henry suggested.

“I could really use that. Sure, let’s go!”

Beth grabbed her backpack off the couch and accepted Henry’s hand, helping her up. Their fingers remained interlocked as they walked to his car to officially begin their mental health day.


	3. Chapter 3

Night came faster than Beth had expected, her day spent with Henry, and eventually Courtney and Yolanda joining in after lunch, had been so enjoyable she hadn’t even realized it was getting late until she saw the sun setting as the teens walked outside from the theatre they were in.

The team walked back to the garage, keeping up the cheerful rapport they tried maintaining throughout the day until entering the training room to see Pat sitting at his desk, a grave expression on his face.

“What’s wrong, Pat?” Courtney asked her step father when she saw his face.

“After last night, I’m worried about members of the ISA getting back to the streets,” the man answered honestly. “This latest victory might encourage them to make more  _ appearances _ in town. Especially with this new Hourman on their side.”

Beth frowned at the mention of Hourman working with the ISA but quickly shook off the negativity and straightened her posture. “So what should we do?” The girl asked, tilting her head.

Pat sighed. “I’m not sure. Back in the day, the JSA would have nightly patrols and be on the lookout for any members in the Injustice Society,” the man gave a small smile at the memory of the old team.

“Then we can do that,” Courtney stated assertively. Looking to her friends for their support and they all nodded in agreement.

“Now hold on, the JSA was a much larger group back then and not to mention more experienced. They only went on patrol because they knew there was a large enough team to depend on when they needed sleep, got sick, or any number of other complications and commitments. We don’t have that advantage and I am not going to let you kids overwork yourselves night and day on the off chance the ISA will come out of hiding,” the older man cautioned.

“But you’re right, the ISA could get cocky and start roaming the streets again. Who knows how many people that could be put in danger,” Yolanda agreed. “And even if they don’t show up, wouldn’t it be better for us to go out there and scare them off?”

“Absolutely not, alright. Unless we’re absolutely sure the Injustice Society is out at night, you guys aren’t going on patrol. That’s final.” Pat finished with one last look of certainty.

…

“Do you think Mr. Dugan is going to be mad when he finds out we’re doing this?” Beth asked as she trailed behind the rest of her suited up teammates.

“No, Pat had a point when he said the ISA may want to come to the surface.” Courtney spoke as she lit the street with her staff.

“Didn’t Pat also say ‘sleep deprivation bad’ somewhere in his whole speech?” Henry reminded as he yawned, not wanting to be out so late. “Cause I agree with Pat on that part.”

“Come on, Henry. This is important.” Yolanda said. 

Henry groaned but raised his arms in surrender, complying with the girl’s request to stay on patrol. “Fine, whatever.”

The four teens stood in the middle of the street.

“What do we do now? It’s not like we can do much without any threats present.” Yolanda noted.

“Maybe we should just...walk around?” Beth suggested.

“We should split up.” Courtney decided.

“Have you never seen a horror movie?” Henry questioned, dumbfounded at the girl’s suggestion.

“This isn’t a horror movie, okay. And we’re superheroes that can defend ourselves.” the blonde said. “And if anything happens we’ll be on comms.”

“Okay, so who goes where?” Yolanda asked.

“Umm, I’ll go north, Yolanda you go south, Henry west, Beth east.” Courtney directed as she pointed down each path. “Sounds good?”

The rest of the team nodded before going off on their own in each direction. All except Beth, who watched as her friends left her on her own. Beth looked around awkwardly before turning and walking in her given direction. 

“Hey, Chuck?” the girl asked as she placed her goggles on her face.

“Hello, Beth.” Dr. McNider greeted. “Is something wrong?” the AI questioned as he read the nervousness in Beth’s voice.

“Nothing really. It’s just, out of the entire team, I’m the not only the one with the least defensive skills, but I’m the only one with a cape, which is prime tripping material.

“And you are...unpleased with their decision to leave you on your own?”

“It’s not that. I’m glad that the team believes in me enough to let me work by myself.I don’t know. I guess I just wish I was less...weak.” 

…

Rick hadn’t expected to be stuck roaming the streets of Blue Valley alone that night, but Steven

had instructed the boy to stake out the town and watch for any signs of the new JSA. The teen came to resent his guardian’s decision to choose him for the job instead of one of the other ISA members. Even when Rick had suggested sending the Crocks again, Gambler had stayed strong on his decision, threatening the teen with a hacked computer, causing Rick to finally comply.

The teen’s eyes burned with tiredness after his mission the night prior, now the young villain was once again under the cover of darkness. Rick suspected that Steve wanted him out of the house so he could either work with those very secretive codes he retrieved, or to come up with plans to destroy the new Dr. Midnite without Rick’s sarcastic remarks. Or perhaps both.

Speaking of Dr. Mid-Nite, she has somehow wormed her way into Rick’s thoughts more than he expected. The boy had wanted to chalk it up to nothing more than shock from the mission, seeing a dead body and seeing her next to it, but it had turned into more than just the image of her. He recalled the fear in her eyes more than he’d like to admit, and a part of him deep down almost felt bad for being partially to blame. 

Rick knew it was his job to go against whatever threats stood in the way of the ISA’s mission, but he couldn’t stop himself from wondering if when the time came, if he’d be capable of doing what needed to be done. He shook off the thought, reminding himself to stay focused before he missed something and got himself grounded. 

He took the high ground, climbing up the fire escape of the nearest building and hopping up onto the roof and looking over the street seeing no sign of the new JSA. Rick told himself he would stay alert but after the first ten minutes of seeing no sign of the team his mind began to wander. 

He thought of what Cindy had said to him that day, that his father would’ve wanted Rick to follow in his footsteps, but the teen couldn’t stop himself from having doubts. All the years of wandering the tunnels going in and out of all the ISA’s secret rooms and meeting places, there wasn’t a piece of evidence of his father’s presence. 

Steven sometimes told him stories about his father, how he worked as a double agent for the ISA and how they couldn’t have defeated the Justice Society without him. Part of Rick was angry that the only proof they had to show for it was the hourglass he wore around his neck. If his father was such an important member of the ISA, he deserved to be commemorated as such.

That wasn’t the only thing on his mind. This new JSA had him confused, they came out of nowhere and yet they knew enough to be at Empire Enterprises fighting off the Crocks. Larry had told him they had put up a good fight and that Rick should’ve been there for the fun. But all Rick really wanted was to do right by his father. To fulfill the dream he died trying to make a reality, whatever it was. 

Rick was broken out of his deep thoughts when he heard a familiar voice.

“I know I’ve been learning how to fight, Chuck, but I wish I could do more. I wish there was something I could do that would help more people.” It was none other than Dr. Mid-Nite. Rick could never forget that voice.

Rick walked closer, following the sound of her voice, until he reached the edge of the building. He spotted the green of her mask under the light of a lamp post. She was walking alone, her team nowhere in sight. Rick couldn’t bring himself to try and fight her. Here she was, talking to her goggles about her desire to help people. If it were any other member of the ISA, they would attack her, maybe even try to kill her. Rick knew it was his duty to do at least the former. He knew the logical thing would be to capture her and interrogate her about the JSA.

Then why was the mere idea of hurting Dr. Mid-Nite causing a pit to form in his stomach? What was it about her that caused him to rethink everything he was ever taught? Maybe it was her sweet voice that Rick couldn’t explain his strange liking for, or perhaps her want to help others in a way the ISA never could. Either way, this new Dr. Mid-Nite was something and Rick wasn’t about to let her out of range.

He slowly crept along the rooftops, listening to her voice.

“I know that Chuck, but sometimes the team doesn’t need constant optimism. And I know they appreciate having it, but what’s the point of being sunshine and rainbows if it doesn’t help anyone in the end?”

Rick listened in on her commentary intently, and watched her as she stood still in her place, she too looked as if she was listening to someone. He just barely saw the sad smile she gave to no one in particular before she continued.

“Maybe…” she began, answering a question unknown to Rick. “how am I supposed to feel after last night? Someone died. I know I tried my best, but that didn’t do any good.”

Rick frowned at the girl’s words, he wished he could tell her it wasn’t her fault, and it bothered him how much he did, but he knew he had to stay hidden from her sights.

“Yeah, but- yes, I know it was a bad situation all around.” she paused for a moment. “ I couldn’t help the team and I couldn’t help that guard. I guess I’m just mopey because of it. Thanks, Chuck. You’re a great listener.” 

Rick watched from above as she walked further into the alleyway, stopping to sit on some wooden crates. His eyes widened as he saw her pull out a book from her pocket.

“Have you read this one?” the girl asked her goggles. “Yes, technically I should be, but also, the chances of the ISA sending someone out right now seems kind of unlikely.”

Rick could’ve laughed at the irony. He saw the girl shiver and rub her hands together.

“Yeah, I’m pretty cold. But then again, this is a November night in Nebraska. It’s bound to get pretty cold. Do you think my cape would make a good blanket? Poor Stargirl, she doesn’t even have pants. She’s probably freezing. I mean, I guess she should’ve invested in leaving the pants when she altered Starman’s suit. I do wonder how she hasn’t gotten scrapes all over her legs. Maybe that’s her actual superpower.” the girl commented to her goggles. “Well, yeah. But I mean, in future fights that may become a huge liability, you know?” 

She spoke softly and Rick listened intently to her every word. Much to his surprise he found much of what she said to be quite interesting, from books she enjoyed to uncommon science facts, he listened to her, unexplainably soothed by her voice. He perked up however at her next words.

“Still no news on the Rex Tyler stuff?”

Rick peeked his head over the roof to watch her face morph from hopeful to dull.

“Yeah, thanks anyways.” 

Beth had spent so long outside rattling off all the facts and commentaries she could think of and she wasn’t sure what to do anymore but ask once again about Rex Tyler, even though she knew the outcome would be the same.

She sighed glumly at the lack of information. 

“If you don’t mind my asking, why do you hope so strongly for this new Hourman to be the son of Rex Tyler?” Chuck asked politely. 

“Well, from a logical standpoint it would make the most sense. The hourglass only works for Rex Tyler’s genetic code so it seems obvious that it would work for his children.”

“And from an illogical standpoint?” the goggles questioned.

Beth sighed once more, not quite sure how to answer that question. “Well, illogically,” she searched for words. “I guess...I guess since Rex Tyler was a good guy I kinda hope that this new Hourman will srota, maybe become a good guy too.” she admitted sheepishly. “Is that stupid? Or-or crazy?”

“No, Beth. It’s not crazy at all. Though, I do recall your compliance in the practice of Henry throwing holy scriptures at you if you conveyed any signs or romantic feelings towards the new Hourman.” 

“I never _ complied  _ to any practices.” Beth defended.

“Perhaps you don’t recall. At 1:54pm while you and Henry were eating your lunch. Mr. King reiterated his plans to quote, ‘launch Bibles at your head if you catch feelings for the new Hour-bitch.’” Chuck explained. “You replied with ‘I will hold you to that threat.’ before continuing your lunch.”

Beth couldn’t stop herself from letting out a loud laugh at Chuck’s use of a cuss word. She had to cover her mouth on the off chance someone would hear her. 

Unbeknownst to Beth, however, someone did hear her from above on the rooftops. Hourman’s breath hitched when he heard Dr. Mid-Nite’s short laugh. He couldn’t help but wonder what her goggles had said to her that caused her to laugh. He wondered if he would ever get the chance to hear her laughter again, or if he would even be the cause of it one day.

Rick also felt relief when he heard the superhero’s laughter. Maybe it meant she was moving on from that security guard’s death. Hopefully she was accepting that it wasn’t her fault. Once again, the word ‘brave’ came to mind. There was always a chance that Dr. Mid-Nite could stumble upon another person who was dying or that she would get hurt herself. After last night’s events, Rick wouldn’t have been surprised if Dr. Mid-Nite decided to sit her next mission out. However, here she was, bravely walking the streets at night to see if anyone needed help.

The hooded teen couldn’t take his eyes off of his guardian’s nemesis. Dr. Mid-Nite was brave and clearly compassionate. She didn’t seem like a bad person at all, so why was the ISA hellbent on destroying her and her teammates? The ISA kept saying how they will make the world a better place, but if the world lost a courageous, kind soul like Dr. Mid-Nite, wouldn’t the world be worse off?

That’s when it really hit Rick- he didn’t want this new Dr. Mid-Nite to perish. He wanted to see her again, wanted to hear her voice and laugh again. Hell, he would be content with just watching her from rooftops, but he selfishly wanted more. Rick wanted to talk to her and learn more about her. He wondered what her smile looked like.

Rick scolded himself, knowing that what he was thinking went against everything he was trained for. He could practically hear Cindy in his head, laughing her ass off at the fact Rick had gone soft for the new Dr. Mid-Nite. 

His thoughts were cut short by Dr. Mid-Nite who had continued speaking.

“There will be no need for Bible throwing, the team is just being protective. The new Hourman, son of Rex Tyler or not, is still with the ISA. That might not change so there’s no point in everyone worrying.” the girl reassured, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else. 

Rick listened from up top and had a small smile on his face at the sound of her voice, he was also very confused when the words ‘Bible throwing’ left her mouth but he’d heard weirder things coming from Steven, so he wasn’t too surprised. 

“Hey, Wildcat!” he heard her cheer, he gazed once more to see her talking in no one’s direction and the boy realized that the team was most likely on a comms system. “Yeah, so far so good. It’s been quiet. Anything on your side?” she paused listening to the other hero’s reply. “That’s good I guess. Why would it be frustrating? The whole point of being out here was so the ISA doesn’t start roaming around town. No-no Wildcat! I get it, you have unfinished business with Tigress but that doesn’t mean you have to be on the lookout for her specifically.”

Rick tilted his head, wondering what Paula did to earn the new Wildcat’s attention.

“I don’t think anyone’s coming Beth,” Yolanda spoke through comms. “We should probably get going. It's almost two in the morning.”

Beth frowned, hoping she could have stayed out longer instead of going home to her empty house since both of her parents had work that night. “Yeah, okay. Where’s Stargirl?” she asked as she slowly lifted herself off the wooden crates and onto the pavement below her. 

“She’s already heading back to where we all split up, Henry too.” the girl disclosed. 

“Wildcat, codenames!” Beth playfully scolded. 

Yolanda laughed quietly, “No one’s here, Beth. We’re good for now. See you in a bit, alright?”

“See you.” Beth replied as she began to walk out of the alley 

Rick watched as she walked off, silent gazing as she turned the corner and left. He knew he should’ve followed her and called in back up, but he couldn’t bring himself to put her, or any of the new Justice Society, in danger. He sighed and simply looked on as she left, leaving her and the rest of her team to find each other and go back to their lives unharmed.

…

Rick returned to ISA headquarters to find Cindy already there waiting for him. 

“Have fun without me?” she questioned bitterly to the boy, arms crossed over her chest as her legs were propped up on the table. “You could’ve called. I could have actually provided some entertainment, or at least dry conversation.” 

“In what suit? We both know your dad would kill you if you touched the costume he made for you and I’m not looking to deliver any eulogies.” Rick crossed his arms, mocking the girl in front of him.

“Screw you.” she said and flipped him off. 

“You’re only pissed cause I’m right,” he stated as he took off his mask. 

“Did you see them?” Cindy asked.

“See who?”

“The new JSA.” Rick raised an eyebrow at the girl. “I heard my dad on the phone with Steven. He was kinda pissed you were sent out instead of the Crocks.” 

“Thank you! Someone else sees my point. We both know the Crocks would’ve had a way better time.”

“Yup, they’d have a  _ way _ better time.” she spoke suggestively.

“Ew, Cindy. Gross.” Rick groaned at the girl’s implications. 

“You’re just pissed cause I’m right.” she shot back, mocking the boy’s earlier words.

“Very funny.” Rick said sarcastically.

“So did you? See the new team?” she pried, curiously.

“Goodnight, Cindy.” Rick waved as he walked out of the room and into the tunnels. 

He heard her call after him as she begged to know more about the new team of heroes in Blue Valley, but just kept walking through the tunnels back to his home.

When he arrived he half expected Steven to once again be sitting in the darkness with Juniper in his lap, but no. Instead he was in his office typing away at his computer looking very concentrated. 

Rick knocked on his guardian’s half open door, alerting the older man to his presence.

  
  


“Hey,” he greeted. “No Kesha,” the teen observed, “Is the end near or something?”

“No, not at all.” the older man chuckled at the boy's comment. “Just working on something for American Dream. Touching up on some old plans I had to scrap. I have to pay the bills somehow.”

“I thought that was what hacking into people’s credit cards was for.”

Gambler looked away from the computer to glance up at the boy, his eyebrow raised. He closed his computer, turning his full attention to Rick. 

“How did tonight’s patrol go? Any sign of the Justice Society, or even better, my nemesis?”

Rick rolled his eyes at the second part of his guardian’s question. “How can Dr. Mid-Nite be your nemesis when you never met her, or seen her?”

“There are things you will only understand after you’ve met your own nemesis.” the man spoke confidently.

“Sure…” Rick rolled his eyes before asking his next question. “What happens if the JSA does start spending their nights around Blue Valley?” 

“Jordan will most likely have the older members of the team looking out for them instead of you. We can’t have them lurking around the streets. There are much more important things to be done than watch out for a group of newbies. But that’s what you’re here for. Keeping watch. If you see anything we’ll most likely have Larry and Paula take over.”

Rick nodded.

“So, any sightings? You did remember to lay low, correct? There are times to be dramatic and other times to stay concealed.” 

“Yeah, I stayed out of sight. Umm, no. I didn’t see anyone tonight, sorry.”

The Gambler grumbled. “That’s alright. Maybe you’ll have better luck tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? I have to do this every night?” Rick asked dumbfounded. “What about sleep, and training, and school?” 

“You don’t have to go anywhere outside of the house. A few hours sleeping in never hurt anyone. I’m sure you’ll adjust.”

Rick groaned.

“Speaking of sleep, you should go do that now. I have work to finish,” Gambler said.

“Okay, Steve. Just don’t blast Kesha while I’m trying to sleep,” Rick noted, before a thought popped into his head. “And don’t rant about Dr. Mid-Nite and how you’re going to destroy her.”

“But I will destroy her, Rick, and it will be glorious!”

Rick stared at Steve. “....Okay, Steve. Good night.”

“Good night, my boy.”

Rick exited his nemesis-obsessed guardian’s office and headed upstairs to his room.

The boy laid on his bed, finally out of his costume. He ran his fingers through his hair questioning himself for lying to Steven, he couldn’t believe he actually did it. He lied straight to Steven’s face for what? The hope that he'd see Dr. Mid-Nite again? The chance to see her smile the next time he did? 

He let his mind take him back to that night, her voice rattling off fun facts and that damn laugh that for some reason made him feel all warm and fuzzy. The part of him that spent over half a decade training to serve the ISA couldn’t help but hate it. But every other part of him couldn’t help but crave for more. Maybe, just maybe, this new Dr. Mid-Nite would be worth it. 

Rick thought so.


	4. Chapter 4

The teen superheroes met up at Pat’s garage the next day to discuss their first patrol. Pat had to buy new supplies, so he told the teens not to make a mess while he’s gone.

“Okay, did anyone see anything out of the ordinary?” Courtney asked, perched up on a table.

Yolanda shook her head. “I didn’t. The streets were empty.”

“Same for me,” Henry said from the couch.

“There was nothing,” Beth agreed from her seat next to Henry. 

Yolanda spoke up. “Are we even sure that the ISA would send out someone to patrol the streets at night?”

Henry shrugged. “Probably, especially now that they know there’s a new JSA. They’ll probably try to cover all their bases to find us and get rid of us.”

“They wouldn’t send out all their members to patrol the town, though. That would be a waste of time for them,” Beth pointed out.

“Beth’s right,” Courtney began. “They would probably only send one or two people. But who?”

The group took a couple of moments to think. 

“What about Hourman?” Yolanda suggested.

“What makes you say that?” Henry questioned, thinking about how Beth was alone with that villain during their first mission, concern and anger bubbling in him.

“Think about it. During our first mission, he didn’t join the fight until the last minute. I think he was probably patrolling the halls, and that’s why he was the one who ran into you, Beth,” Yolanda’s eyes saddened at the thought of her friend trying to save a dying man, “and you said that he looked young, like us. It would make sense for them to send out a teenager with superstrength to do recon and patrol so they would still have their more experienced members ready in case something happened.”

Realization dawned on Beth. “And if Hourman were to run into any trouble, he’s obviously capable of handling things himself until backup arrives.”

“That does make sense, guys,” Courtney admitted. “But Hourman wasn’t there last night. We would’ve seen him.”

“Maybe they decided not to send him on patrol last night,” Henry suggested.

“Yeah, maybe. Should we go on patrol again tonight?” Courtney inquired of her friends. “I’m cool with it if you are.”

“Yeah, I’m in,” Yolanda agreed.

“Me, too.”

“Same.”

“Maybe we should partner up just in case we do see Hourman or someone,” Yolanda suggested.

“Sounds good with me. I’ll go with Beth,” Henry offered.

“Okay big brother,” Yolanda teased the redhead. “I’ll go with Court.”

“And I’m assuming we will be keeping this a secret from Pat?” Henry asked.

“Yeah,” Courtney said sheepishly. “He wouldn’t exactly be super supportive.”

“I don’t know. It feels wrong to lie to Mr. Dugan” Beth disclosed. “I mean, he wanted us to stay away from patrolling for a reason.” 

“I agree with Beth. Pat just wants us to sleep, why go against that?” Henry questioned. “I don’t know about you guys, but I like sleeping. Maybe I’m just the weird one in this group.” 

“Aw, Henry, you’re not weird for wanting to sleep.” Yolanda said. Henry smiled at her support. “You’re weird because you can read minds and move things without touching them.”

Henry’s smile dropped and the girls couldn't stop themselves from laughing. 

“Your face.” Courtney giggled.

“I hate all of you.” Henry grumbled.

“Even me?” Beth asked playfully. 

“Yes.” 

“And me?” Courtney questioned in a sing-song voice.

“I hate everyone in this room. Except the S.T.R.I.P.E bot. The S.T.R.I.P.E. bot has never done me wrong.”

“When have I done you wrong?” Beth asked with mock hurt.

“You stole my fortune cookie at lunch three days ago.” 

“You weren’t even going to eat it, you hate fortune cookies.” 

“Okay, but you didn’t have to take it.” 

“It was there, I wanted a fortune cookie-”

“Okay, but it was my food.”

“Can we save the sibling banter for later.” Yolanda cut in. 

Beth and Henry turned their heads to Yolanda, who was raising her eyebrows expectantly. The two nodded before giving their attention back to their friends.

“Pat can’t know. He won’t let us go out.” Courtney stated. 

“No offence, Court, but would you even listen to him if he tried stopping you. You’re not exactly the most well behaved person in the room.” Henry brought up.

“Okay, technically you’re right, I’d still do it. But it feels worse to go directly against him instead of-”

“Sneaking around behind his back and lying to him about it?” Henry finished for the girl.

“Yes.” the blonde confirmed, nodding her head excitedly. 

“Makes sense.” 

“How?” Yolanda questioned.

“Shhh, it just does.” Henry instructed quietly.

“Don’t shush me.” 

“Yup, sorry.”

Beth giggles softly. “Alright, so how are we meeting up? Same time same place?” 

“Same place, I was thinking later. The ISA might not have been there, but I had way too many close calls with townspeople coming way too close to seeing me and the staff.” Courtney informed. 

“Ah, so even less sleep,” Henry noted.

“Just drink coffee in the morning,” Yolanda pointed out. “Anyways, yeah, I’m with you, Court.”

“Me, too,” Beth said, looking at Henry, who sighed, knowing damn well he would never leave the girls alone at night.

“Yeah, same.”

Courtney grinned. “Great! So it’s decided. We will meet tonight!”

The four of them hoped that they wouldn’t run into any serious trouble.

…

Later that night, the teen JSA met up at their designated spot. 

“Okay, Dr. Mid-Nite and Brainwave Jr, you two cover the upper half, and Wildcat and I will cover the bottom half of town. Sounds good?” Courtney planned.

The three of them nodded. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to change your name?” Yolanda asked Henry. “I mean, if someone heard us call you ‘Brainwave Jr.,’ they’ll figure out your identity.”

Henry waved her off. “No, it’s fine. Besides, I told you that I wanted to do some good with the name ‘Brainwave,’ maybe try to make up for all the evil my father did with it.”

“Okay, we can question Brainwave Jr.’s life choices later,” Beth started, earning a glare from her redheaded best friend, “but we better start now before it gets too late out here.”

The team nodded in agreement and went their separate ways. 

  
  


Meanwhile, Rick found himself on top of a building, looking for the JSA. Well, he was supposed to be on the lookout for all four members, but he was much more interested in Dr. Mid-Nite. After about an hour of wandering rooftops, he heard  _ her _ voice.

“Listen, I think it’s noble for you to try to make up for all the horrible things your father did, but you don’t have to. It’s not your job to fix his name,” Dr. Mid-Nite said to her redheaded companion in a comforting tone. 

Rick felt his heart swell at Dr. Mid-Nite’s voice as she tried to comfort her friend/teammate. Even during a late night patrol, she still managed to try to help someone. How compassionate can one person be?

The redhead sighed. “I appreciate you saying that, but this is just something that feels right, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just weird calling you that name when you are a completely different person than him,” Beth noted.

“I hope you mean that in a good way,” Henry teased.

Beth rolled her eyes. “Of course I do. But hey, if you ever wanna change your name, I’ll be there, offering support and suggestions.”

Henry smiled. “Thank you, that means a lot.”

Rick watched as Dr. Mid-Nite squeezed the redhead’s hand and felt a pit form in his stomach. Was the new Dr. Mid-Nite in a relationship with her teammate? Rick shook his head. She was just a kind hearted person who tried to help those around her, it was only natural for her to comfort someone.

“Come on, Brainwave Jr, let’s go finish our patrol. There’s still a lot of ground to cover.”

Wait, what? Did Rick just hear Dr. Mid-Nite correctly? Did she just call her companion  _ Brainwave Jr.? _ As in Henry King, aka Brainwave, aka member of the ISA? Did the JSA have a mind reader on their team? A mind reader who couldn’t even come up with a better name?

Rick had to see for himself, stealthily climbing down the nearest fire escape, he took place behind the two heroes, arms crossed, almost waiting for them to turn around and see him. When they didn’t, he rolled his eyes and spoke. “Hello, heroes.” 

The two jumped, Brainwave Jr. lifted his hands, prepared to telekinetically throw objects at the villain’s head. Dr. Mid-Nite had her hands clenched into first, but instead of being raised ready to fight, they were at her sides, cautious, yet not showing any sign she would fight.

“Hourman,” Henry growled, lifting up crates all around them, preparing himself to attack.

“Hi,” Beth waved.

Henry turned his head to the girl. “Hi? A member of the ISA is standing in front of us and you say ‘Hi’ seriously?” the teen questioned incredulously.

“Banter later,” Dr. Mid-Nite reminded.

“Banter now!”

“You wanna tell that to Wildcat?” 

The redhead silenced, shooting the girl a small glare, she simply shrugged with an awkward smile.

Rick raised an eyebrow at the two, looking between them.

Henry turned back and lifted the crates further. Rick grabbed his hourglass and began to flip it over before frantically yelled. “Wait, wait, wait!” she exclaimed, running between the two boys.

“Dr. Mid-Nite, what the hell?” Henry questioned as he pulled back his weapons. “He’s in the ISA.”

“Exactly, and he had the chance to kill me but he didn’t.” she rambled. “I want to know why,” she whispered to him.

“I can look into that right now, no problem,” Brainwave Jr. tried to peek into Hourman’s mind but all he got was loud ringing, causing him to wince and hunch over.

“What the fu-”

“You’re not the only one with tricks.” Hourman smirked.

When Henry recovered he lifted up the crates with vigor before Beth tried pulling one of them down to no avail. “Dude, stop.” she struggled as she was slowly brought up along with the wood. Henry begrudgingly lowered his hands along with Beth, and Rick removed his hand from the hourglass. Beth sighed in relief.

Henry, however, glared at Hourman. “Why did you stop?”

Hourman shrugged. “Didn’t see the point in wasting my hour yet,” Rick said casually, knowing damn well he stopped because Dr. Mid-Nite wanted them to and he didn’t want to see her get hurt in the crossfire. “And maybe I didn’t want to see your pretty little friend here get hit by crates,” Rick added with a smirk while looking at Dr. Mid-Nite.

Henry felt his blood boil at Hourman’s words. He raised his hands and threatened, “Why you little-”

“Hey!” Beth exclaimed. When she saw that Hourman made no sudden movements, Beth gently placed her hand on Henry’s, causing him to bring it back down. She turned to Hourman and asked “Why didn’t you kill me that night at Empire Enterprises? You had the perfect opportunity to, and you didn’t. Why?”

Rick licked his lip. “Maybe I just didn’t think it was worth the effort?”

Beth’s lie detector function of her goggles lit up, providing her with some information about Hourman’s response. “You’re lying.”

Rick raised an eyebrow. “Really? Am I?”

“Yeah, you are. I can always tell when people are lying,” Beth shot back

“Is that your superpower now?”

“Maybe. Now are you going to tell me the truth?”

“Why do you care?” he questioned smoothly.

“Why don’t you want to answer the question honestly?”

Rick squinted his eyes at the girl before clicking his tongue. “Honestly, I’m not a hundred percent sure why. Good enough answer?”

According to Chuck, Hourman’s answer was only partially true. “Not really, but you’re obviously not going to tell the truth. But I think deep down, you didn’t want to hurt me then, and you don’t want to hurt me now. Maybe it’s because the previous Hourman was a good guy, a hero?” Beth questioned inquisitively. 

Rick’s jaw clenched. “Big assumption for such a small person.” He wouldn’t admit he actually found her height kinda cute.

Henry clenched his fists, ready to fight, but Beth once again put her hand over his. 

“But you didn’t deny it,” Beth noted, deciding to take a risk. She took a step forward and asked softly, “The previous Hourman was your father, wasn’t he?”

Rick looked down at the girl, partly angry for her words, partly angry because she was right. His eyes bore into hers. “You know  _ nothing _ .” he spoke dangerously low, getting closer to the girl with every word.

Beth stood her ground and stared into Hourman’s brown eyes. “I know more than you think.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he grit his teeth.

Beth responded in a soft, gentle tone. “You wouldn’t be so angry right now if he  _ wasn’t _ your father.”

Rick opened his mouth to reply but he was cut off by two new voices.

“Dr. Mid-Nite, Brainwave!” Stargirl called out.

“And… Hourman,” Wildcat observed, her eyes widening. “What do you want, Hourman?”

Rick instantly grabbed his hourglass and turned it upside down. He basked in the golden light that appeared and looked at Stargirl, Wildcat, and Brainwave Jr. “None of your business,” the supervillain teen snapped at the trio.

“Why are you here, tonight, anyway?” Dr. Mid-Nite asked curiously, still a few steps away from Rick. Rick’s eyes slightly softened at her, but it went unnoticed by the JSA.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” Rick responded to Dr. Mid-Nite, before running and jumping up a nearby fire escape. The JSA watched in shock at how agile Hourman was as he disappeared into the night.

After a few moments, the JSA snapped out of their shock and composed themselves.

“I hate that guy,” Henry growled. “So fucking much.”

“He didn’t try to fight us,” Beth pointed out.

“Speak for yourself, he was going to fight me. He decided not to because you ran between us and told us to stop,” Henry grumbled.

“Wait,” Yolanda turned to Beth. “You got both of them to not fight? Brainwave, I can understand, but how did you get Hourman to stop?”

Beth shrugged. “I just told them both to stop.”

Courtney turned her head in interest. “Okay, but  _ why  _ did Hourman listen to you?”

“I don’t know,” Beth said honestly. It was a question she had herself. 

“I’ll tell you why,” Henry said, in that overprotective tone he reserved only for Beth and Courtney. “Because that ass has some kind of crush on her!”

Beth rolled her eyes. “That’s ridiculous, Brainwave Jr!”

“Oh yeah? He said he stopped because he said he didn’t want ‘my pretty friend to get hurt’ and then he just called you sweetheart. He didn’t even raise a hand to you, even though you made him super angry, yet he was ready to kill me.” Henry explained to his friends, blood boiling. The next time he saw Hourman, he was going to tear him apart. Why, of all people, did Hourman have his creepy crush on Beth?

“Okay,” Courtney held a hand up. “Obviously a lot happened, so let’s go back to HQ and talk about this.”

The rest of the group nodded and began to head to Pat’s garage.

…

When the teen heroes arrived at the garage, they changed into more comfortable clothes and took their seats. Courtney took her favorite spot on one of Pat’s tables, Yolanda sat on a chair and put her feet up on another table, and Beth and Henry sat next to each other on the couch.

“Okay, so what happened?” Yolanda questioned.

Beth and Henry recounted their encounter with Hourman. Yolanda hid a chuckle at Henry’s overprotective comments.

“Wait, so Hourman’s father really was Rex Tyler?” Courtney asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he is,” Beth said. “It would’ve been easier if he had given a yes or no answer, since Chuck could’ve detected the lie, but it was obvious. The way Hourman reacted… Rex Tyler is definitely his father.”

“So that means the ISA really did kidnap him,” Yolanda realized in horror.

“Oh my god,” Henry breathed, now that the adrenaline was wearing off. “They took Rex’s kid and turned him into a villain. That’s…”

“Evil,” Courtney finished.

“Yeah,” Yolanda agreed.

“We have to tell Mr. Dugan.” Beth spoke.

Henry nodded in agreement. “We do. I don’t care how mad Pat may get about us going out on patrol, he deserves to know what happened to his friend’s son.”

“I agree,” Yolanda voiced her support.

“I’m with you,” Courtney agreed. This was something they couldn’t hide from Pat.

“So how should we tell him?” Beth questioned.

“Maybe we can call him?” Henry suggested.

“Or I can tell him in the morning?” Courtney suggested.

“The sooner the better.” Yolanda stated, earning a nod from the rest of the group.

“How about I tell Pat to meet us here tomorrow morning? This is something we all should be here for,” Courtney spoke. The other three nodded in agreement.

Tomorrow morning was going to be eventful.

…

Rick walked up to Gambler’s elaborate mansion, still reeling from his patrol. Well, he was reeling more from Dr. Mid-Nite and her words and actions. It felt like she had stared into his dark soul and tried to understand him. She didn’t try to fight him, didn’t back down… she wasn’t  _ afraid _ . Rick thankfully managed to hide the real reason why he didn’t kill her that night at Empire Enterprises, but he inadvertently revealed one of his biggest truths- the identity of his father.

Dammit, how was she able to see right through him? Dr. Mid-Nite figured out the truth from his own actions. How was it that she understood him so easily? He was angry and shocked when she asked about his father, but when he angrily tried to intimidate her, she held her ground and responded with a gentleness he never felt from anyone before.

Rick knew he would’ve fought the rest of the JSA. He would’ve enjoyed punching that redheaded telepath who he was pretty sure was Brainwave’s son. He probably would’ve gone easy on Stargirl and Wildcat, they didn’t annoy him the way Brainwave Jr did. But Dr. Mid-Nite? No, he wouldn’t have been able to bring himself to hurt her.

But did he enjoy calling her ‘pretty’ and ‘sweetheart’? Yes, he did. And did he enjoy Brainwave’s Jr’s reactions to it? Absolutely.

Rick let out a tired sigh before entering his house.

“Steven?” he called out into the manor.

“Office!” the man called back. 

Rick made his way to Steven’s office, where the man turned on his chair to face him.

“Ah, Rick, you’re home! How was patrol? Did you see Dr. Mid-Nite?” The older man asked, deeply interested in the whereabouts of his nemesis. 

Rick raised an eyebrow. “Do you care about the rest of the JSA, or just Dr. Mid-Nite?” In all honesty, Rick was only interested in Dr. Mid-Nite, but for completely different reasons than his guardian.

“Of course I do, but Dr. Mid-Nite is my nemesis, I need to know about her actions if I want to create a good plan to defeat her in battle!” Gambler responded, shaking a fist.

“She’s a teenager,” Rick reminded Gambler again.

“She is still my nemesis,” Gambler insisted. “Now, tell me, how was tonight’s patrol?”

Despite the eventful patrol, Rick found that he didn’t want to tell the truth. He wanted to see Dr. Mid-Nite again. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt drawn to her. But, he still had to do his duty to the ISA and tell them about Brainwave Jr’s possible identity. “I didn’t see anyone from the JSA. But I had a lot of time to think back to what happened at Empire Enterprises. When we fought the JSA, there was a guy I didn’t recognize, remember?” At Steven’s nod, Rick continued. “Well, he had red hair and was moving things with his mind. At first I didn’t think anything of it, and then I remembered tonight- doesn’t Brainwave have a son? A son who dated Cindy?”

Gambler gasped dramatically. “You don’t think…”

“I think Brainwave’s son is in the JSA,” Rick revealed.

“Are you sure, my boy? Cindy Burman would’ve told us, that’s why Dragon King sent her to spy on him.”

“They broke up, Henry ended things,” Rick couldn’t believe he was sharing gossip with his guardian, “So she couldn’t have known.”

Gambler nodded sagely. “This is remarkable information. Good job, Rick,” he said, proudly. “I will pass this on to the rest of the ISA.”

Rick nodded. “Okay.” He was preparing to leave when Steve spoke up.

“Oh!” Gambler exclaimed. “If Henry Jr. really is in the JSA, perhaps he can be your nemesis! And together we shall defeat him and Dr. Mid-Nite!”

“No, I don’t have a nemesis, and something tells me that Dr. Mid-Nite doesn’t even think of you as her nemesis,” Rick said with a smirk. Hey, his night sucked, and teasing his guardian usually made him feel better.

“Give it time, my boy. Soon, Dr. Mid-Nite and I shall engage in a battle of the wits and when I emerge victorious, she will regard me as her nemesis!” Gambler proclaimed, unfazed.

Rick rolled his eyes. “Once again, she is a teenager, probably the same age as me and Henry-” Rick stopped, eyes widening. He, Henry, and Cindy were all the same age. Cindy couldn’t get close to Henry anymore because they broke up. But maybe he can? “I have an idea.”

“Oh? What is it?” Gambler asked, interested.

“Since Cindy isn’t close to Henry anymore, there’s no way she can continue investigating him. So send me to that high school. I can try to figure out if Henry really is the new telepath in the JSA. And maybe I can figure out the rest of their identities, too. They won’t have any reason to distrust the new kid,” Rick explained. Plus, he could try and get that ‘high school experience’ Cindy mentioned. And perhaps there’s a chance Dr. Mid-Nite goes to school there, too.

Gambler held a finger to his lip as he thought. It was a good plan. Logical, careful, and would most likely end in success. “You know what, my boy? You are right. I shall enroll you right now and create false school records for you. You will start tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow?” Well, that was soon, but at least he will be able to get out of this house faster. “Cool.”

“And Rick?” Gambler called out, turning away from his screen. “Perhaps you can try to figure out Dr. Mid-Nite’s identity, as soon as possible? So I can plan her defeat more effectively.”

Rick stared at his guardian, baffled at his request. “Okay, I’m going to bed now. Don’t overwork yourself trying to defeat a teenage girl.”

After hearing his guardian’s “Good night,” Rick made his way to his room and got ready for bed. Before he tried to fall asleep, he texted Cindy.

**Rick:** _Guess what?_

**Cindy:** _ Steven finally found an age appropriate nemesis? _

**Rick:** _ I wish. But no, I’m going to be a new student at Blue Valley High, starting tomorrow. _

**Cindy:** _What?! Why? Not that I’m not happy about this, it would be nice to have someone I at least tolerate there._

**Rick:** _ Steven wants me to investigate the identities of the JSA, since we’re all certain they are teenagers. _

**Cindy:** _Makes sense. I’ll see you tomorrow, then!_

**Rick:** _ Yeah, see you. _

Rick placed his phone on his nightstand and fell back into bed, exhausted from the night’s events. His thoughts once again drifted to Dr. Mid-Nite. The sound of her voice, her intelligence, her compassion, bravery, and gentleness… He’s never met anyone like her before. He remembered how soft her voice was when she asked him about his father. Rick was trained well by the ISA, but Dr. Mid-Nite managed to outsmart him with just a few questions. She made him feel things he’s never felt before.

Rick sighed. Out of everyone, he just had to be enamoured by his guardian’s nemesis. But he couldn’t help it, he couldn’t control his feelings. Maybe going to school won’t be so bad. Maybe he’ll figure out who Dr. Mid-Nite is, and he’ll be lucky enough to get closer to her.


End file.
